Troy police seek man involved in attempted child abduction

Published
12:00 am CDT, Friday, April 11, 2008

TROY - Authorities were investigating a report that a man attempted to coax a child into his vehicle Friday morning in Troy. About 8:20 a.m. Friday, a 9-year-old girl was waiting for a school bus in the 500 block of Meadowlark Street, by Reid Avenue. She was alone at the bus stop; her younger brother had gotten on his bus just a few minutes earlier.The girl told police that a man in an older-model, gray pickup truck with black stripes, possibly a Ford Ranger or Ford Bronco, pulled up at the bus stop. The pickup had a black camper shell and its back window was broken out. There was tape around the edges of the window and a blue tarp in the bed of the truck.The man did not get out of the truck but instead rolled down his window."At first, he just pulled up and asked her to get in the vehicle," said Troy Police Chief Robert A. Rizzi Jr.Rizzi said the man asked the girl to get in the vehicle with him."She takes off running to a nearby house," Rizzi said.The man then got out of his vehicle in attempts to further coax the girl. However, he did not chase her when she started to run. The girl made it to a neighbor's house across the street, where adults let the girl inside and called 911.The suspect was described as an older white male with white or gray hair combed to the side and a white mustache. He is missing some - or all - of his front teeth and was wearing a camouflage shirt. He is of medium height and build. The Troy Police Department still was searching for the man, Rizzi said Friday afternoon. Police checked the sex offender registry and canvassed the area, but they did not find any man or vehicle matching the description. The vehicle last was seen early Friday heading south on Meadowlark."It's something we're taking very seriously," Rizzi said.In his 22 years with the department, Rizzi said he could not remember a similar incident."We do believe it's an isolated incident," he said.Police contacted the girl's parents, alerted local authorities and also notified school officials, Rizzi said. Extra officers were called in to help with the search. Anyone with information about this incident should call the Troy Police Department at (618) 667-6731 or e-mail troypd@troypolice.us.